What do you do if you need to ace job interviews after a layoff?

Take time to reflect on your past experiences, accomplishments, and skills gained from your previous roles. Identify your strengths, areas of expertise, and key achievements that are relevant to the positions you're applying for.

When discussing your layoff, be honest and transparent about the circumstances while framing it in a positive light. Emphasize what you learned from the experience, how you've grown both personally and professionally, and the steps you've taken to proactively address any challenges or gaps in your skills or knowledge during your time away from work.

Update your resume to highlight your most recent accomplishments, skills, and experiences. Tailor your resume to each job application, focusing on the qualifications and requirements outlined in the job description. Don't forget your LinkedIn profile- that's your quick and effective window to the larger professional network. Invest time in sprucing it up along the same lines.

Practice common interview questions and responses to build confidence and articulate your skills and experiences effectively. Consider conducting mock interviews with friends, family members, or career coaches to receive feedback and refine your interview techniques. Prepare specific examples and stories that illustrate your skills, accomplishments, and problem-solving abilities. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your responses and provide concrete examples of your capabilities.

Network is the most powerful tool! Reach out to people who you use to work with. Seek for recommendations, good word or any new connections that could take you closer to the new job opportunity. Be open also to exploring new connections, network with pop;e you don't know and sharing your needs/what you are looking for. Don't be shy about looking for a job.

Be prepared to discuss your layoff experience in a positive and professional manner. Emphasize what you learned from the experience, how you've grown professionally, and your readiness to take on new challenges and opportunities.

What if we stopped treating people’s ability to “ace” an interview as if that’s the primary reason you hire them instead of the actual work history, experience, education, and expertise they bring with them? What if neurodiverse people who do excellent work didn’t get passed over for opportunities because they’re tired of masking all day to make the neurotypicals comfortable?

Ask yourself where the mandate of needing to "ace" them comes from - you will lead with the energy that you are feeling the strongest so assessing the why, what, and how you truly want will enable you to lead in any way you'd like.

From the title of this article, it's suggesting that the person looking for a job is making their problem the new potential employer's problem. The 'need' to 'ace the exam' is a falsehood, as has been noted by many others here. The harder you consciously try to do something, the more likely you are to sabotage yourself. Consider the baseball player who 'tries' to hit a grand slam with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, down by 3 runs...They're taking all the pressure on themselves as the only person who can win the game, YET - all they have to do is get on base to keep the game alive. Walk, Balk, Hit by pitch, hit, steal first, bunt...it all keeps the game alive. But if they try to swing for the fence, they're more likely to pop out.